This assignment will focus on professional, legal and ethical issues related to self-use of medicines by nurses. It will also explore the importance of reporting this misconduct on the part of the two screenplay professionals and how they could do so. Self-use of medications by nurses is neither permitted nor justifiable according to the guidance provided to nurses by An Bord Altranais (ABA 2007). It will also be evident throughout this mission the need for Jack to report Linda's self-use of the drug or to urge Linda to do so, regardless of the consequences this might present to both him and Linda. , as according to the Nurses and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). 2013), nurses can now be held responsible for their inaction. Indeed, providing the highest level of care to a patient is an essential role of a nurse and the primary goal of the nurse's work should be to care for that patient (ABA 2010). Both nurses also have an ethical duty to report any misconduct in accordance with the four ethical principles: Beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy (Edwards 2009). Accountability is a very important concept in nursing practice. It is defined by the ABA (2000a) as being responsible for the actions one performs during one's nursing career. In this situation, Linda is not responsible because she did not report what she did. Therefore, she does not practice within the scope of practice of the nursing profession. Furthermore, accountability is the essence of professionalism in nursing practice (ABA 2000a). According to NMBI (2013), nurses are responsible for not acting in a manner that is professionally required of them. This would hold Jack responsible for not reporting Linda if he chose not to and it would mean that Jack ...... middle of paper ...... would sort out his actions, so Jack must do so as he is also. responsible for making this situation known to the competent people. However, it must be recognized how difficult this may be for Jack due to the long-standing relationship he has with Linda. It should also be obvious by now that Linda's actions are unjustifiable. Not only is she acting unprofessional and unethical by not delivering the medications, but she is also committing an illegal offense by falsifying the records and stealing from the room. To conclude, it is important to remember that the Ministry of Health and Children (2008) recognizes that health care is born in a world that is not perfect and that as human beings, errors are possible. However, health system actors must try to prevent these errors from occurring as much as possible to ensure a high standard of care that is owed to service users..